A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Li Yu went to Chinatown and found Situ Meitang. Due to Mr. Zhongshan's recent activities in America, Hongmen Zhigong Hall in various places was raising funds. Situ Meitang also called on Chinese in New York and surrounding states to raise funds.

"Brother Shucai is here!" After seeing Li Yu, Situ Meitang put down the pen and paper in his hand and said, "Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Li Yu said: "I sent a telegram, maybe you didn't receive it."

Situ Meitang said: "Look at me! I have been running around everywhere these past two days. After everyone found out about the domestic affairs, they all hurriedly donated money to the Alliance."

"How's the effect?" Li Yu asked.

Situ Meitang said: "The 'Hongmen Salary Raising Bureau' organized by Mr. Zhongshan launched an activity of donating one yuan per person and has raised thousands of yuan."

Except for a small number of Chinese who entered Li Yu's factory, most Chinese did not earn even one dollar a day.

Li Yu said: "Just do what you can."

Situ Meitang said: "The fundraising from the Chinese is only a small part. Zhi Gong Tang has begun to raise cash through mortgage asset loans. A building in Victoria Zhi Gong Tang received a one-time mortgage of 1 Canadian dollars."

The current exchange rate between the US dollar and the Canadian dollar is basically 1:1.

Li Yu said: "So confident?"

Situ Meitang said: "I can't control that much anymore. I may never encounter such a big thing in my life. If we can overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, what is this little money? In addition to the Victoria Zhi Gong Tang, the Zhi Gong Tang in Vancouver and other places also responded actively Mortgage fundraising activities.”

Many of their mortgages were not paid off until the end of World War II.

Li Yu asked: "How much are the donations from America?"

Situ Meitang said: "I don't have exact data, but it should be roughly $[-]."

Li Yu said: "I can provide another donation of US$5, but it will be in the name of Brother Situ."

Situ Meitang was surprised: "Why do you have to do this again? This is not five dollars, but fifty thousand! Brother Shucai, if you want to do good things, there is no need to remain anonymous."

Li Yu said: "What difference should we make between you and me? That's it."

Situ Meitang smiled and said: "It's possible, but you shouldn't underestimate the people of the Tongmenghui. Anyone with a discerning eye knows who can afford so much money."

What Situ Meitang said made sense. Li Yu thought for a while and said: "Tonight, the New York Times will hold a themed banquet on Arctic exploration at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where I am staying. I'll see if I can take this opportunity to let you know. Americans put in some money.”

Situ Meitang doesn't have high hopes for this: "If they wanted to spend money, they would have done it long ago."

Li Yu said: "Give it a try. Don't Americans like to engage in gold-dollar diplomacy? They should be used when they should be used."

Situ Meitang knew that Li Yu had a high reputation among foreigners, and that Li Yu might not be able to do things that the court could not do.

Others couldn't guarantee it, but Li Yu had a life-saving grace for Astor IV, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. As long as he opened his mouth, he would come up with something.

Li Yu just walked out of Situ Meitang's office when he suddenly spotted a white woman wearing chef's clothes walking towards the kitchen carrying a vegetable basket.

Li Yu asked: "You actually hire white chefs here?"

Situ Meitang said: "Are you talking about Mary? She has nowhere to go now and lives in Chinatown. Her cooking skills are indeed good. I heard that she used to be a private chef specializing in high-end dishes for the upper class."

Li Yu wondered: "Why would such a person come to Lower Manhattan?"

"I don't know why no one in New York City is willing to hire her now," said Situ Meitang. "I heard that she seemed to have been sentenced to three years in prison for an unjust, false and wrong case. The doctor said she was a germ carrier, but I She looks healthy, even a little strong, and she doesn’t look sick.”

Li Yu had a black line on his head. I was dizzy. This woman turned out to be the famous "Typhoid Mary".

The name given to her by the Americans is somewhat discriminatory. In fact, she is just an "asymptomatic infected person" that later generations are accustomed to.

But for the current medical and microbiological communities, it is very strange and incomprehensible for a person to carry Salmonella typhi without getting sick.

Three years ago, many cases of typhoid fever occurred in New York, which attracted great attention.Because in the United States, there is basically no cure for typhoid fever, and the only way to survive is to survive, with a mortality rate of 10%.

New York is a big city, so a doctor named Soper was quickly sent to trace the source of the infection.

But Soper tried every means in the patient's home and failed to find the source of infection, and even suggested that the patient's family burn down the house and rebuild it.

Later, Soper awakened his detective talent and focused on a woman related to many cases of typhoid fever - Mary, a chef who specialized in serving wealthy people in New York.

After collecting samples, it was found that she was carrying a large amount of Salmonella typhi, so she was quarantined in an infectious disease hospital.

During the six months of testing, Mary tested positive every day, but she was still alive and well.

Doctor Soper had no choice but to imprison her on an inaccessible island.

After three years in prison, Mary couldn't bear it anymore and took the New York government to court.The judge also didn't think that such a healthy person could carry germs. Moreover, Mary's case had been exposed by newspapers, saying that "a healthy woman was illegally imprisoned for three years" and the like. The judge could not withstand the pressure of public opinion.

But the test report provided by Dr. Soper was clear.

After several mediations, the court acquitted her, but she could no longer work as a chef and had to report her physical condition to the health department every month.

After regaining her freedom, Mary was unable to find another job because of the newspaper reports, so she secretly returned to her old job as a cook.

Li Yu said speechlessly: "Brother Situ, you'd better send her away, otherwise there will be typhoid fever patients in Chinatown."

Situ Meitang said: "If we don't take her in, she will probably starve to death on the streets. Besides, she is quite capable."

Li Yu said: "Brother Situ, how can you still care about an American? As long as she tells the health department, she will be taken back to the infectious disease hospital for isolation. Although she has lost her freedom, at least she will not starve to death. "

Situ Meitang obeyed Li Yuyan in scientific matters. Seeing that he was so serious, he could only agree: "I will report it to the health officials."

Mary's life in the isolation hospital was actually pretty good, but she could never get rid of the label "Typhoid Mary" for the rest of her life.

-

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel was very busy today. They once again invited Robert Peary, who just completed the Arctic expedition more than a year ago and became the first to reach the North Pole.As one of the few unreached destinations on earth, Pirie's Arctic expedition has become a very hot topic.

Li Yu has never been very fond of this so-called "exploration spirit" because European and American explorations are almost always based on the suffering of aborigines.

I don’t know what’s worth singing about.

Aston IV welcomed Li Yu and said: "That's great. The arrival of you and Mr. Tesla makes this dinner even more glorious!"

Then he pulled Robert Pirie over and said: "Mr. Pirie brought two types of radio equipment at that time, and the last one was yours, which was the most reliable and durable."

Li Yu didn't expect that his product would be advertised, so he could only smile and said: "Radio equipment is not that important in polar exploration. At most, it just spreads the news early. In extremely cold environments, it is still important for local people to Human guides, sled dogs, and food supplies are the most important.”

Robert Peary said: "Academician Li Yu is very right! Those Eskimos don't know how to use radio at all, and it is simply wishful thinking to rely on it for rescue. However, it is very worthwhile to be able to send out the message of reaching the North Pole as soon as possible."

Later generations generally referred to the indigenous people as Inuit, and the term "Eskimo" actually has a derogatory connotation.

Robert Peary clearly has no respect for the Inuit.

In addition to Robert Peary, there is also an American named Frederick Cook who is also competing for who can reach the North Pole first.

Robert Peary continued: "I brought back six Eskimos and sold them to the Natural History Museum to let everyone see this mysterious race in the arctic zone."

There was some pride in his tone, like a successful hunt, except the prey was an Inuit.

Peary brought the six Inuit back to New York through deception and sold them for $58000, but four of them died shortly after arriving in New York.

The two Inuit who survived complained bitterly about Robert Peary's atrocities when they grew up, and even revealed that Peary deceived local women into having sex with them during the expedition, resulting in pregnancy.

Li Yu didn't want to talk to him any more, and followed Aston IV's instructions and sat down in his seat.

Aston IV said: "Today our Grand Palm Restaurant specially prepared the food that Mr. Robert Peary used when he explored the North Pole. Let us also taste these mysterious dishes."

The waiter brought a plate of food that looked like minced meat.

Robert Peary said to everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must have eaten countless delicacies, but you must have never seen this food from the Arctic Circle. It is made from the meat of bison or moose after a long process. It is dried and ground into meat powder, which is then prepared with animal fat and pressed into pemmican. One pound of pemmican requires at least five pounds of fresh meat to make, and the food can be stored for five years or more."

Someone said: "Sounds like a soldier's meal."

Pirie said: "There are some similarities. Even though it is only a small piece, it can provide a lot of energy. We also added aronia berries and salt to it, and the taste is much better than the pemmican that the Eskimos used to eat. "

Someone else asked: "Is it possible that the Eskimos don't even know how to season?"

Pirie said: "Of course they don't understand! Without my expedition team, you can't imagine how boring their diet is."

Li Yu became even more annoyed after hearing his condescending tone.

Someone asked again: “What else is there besides pemmican?”

"On the last leg of the sprint to the North Pole, our daily ration was a kilogram of pemmican plus a small amount of tea, condensed milk, hard biscuits and compressed beans," Pirie said.

"Even if it's not delicious, it's an amazing experience for us to be able to taste the expedition's food," Astor IV said.

"I think they're very delicious! Of all the foods I'm familiar with that a person could eat twice a day for 365 days, pemmican is the only one. And the last bite of it is always as delicious as the first," Piri said. .”

Li Yu looked at the minced meat in front of him. It should not be the pemmican that the expedition team soaked in hot water and eaten, but a modified version made by the chef of the Big Palm Restaurant.

The actual taste is not as amazing as Robert Peary boasted, and other New York celebrities only tasted it with a curiosity mentality.

In addition to pemmican, the restaurant also prepares another kind of raw walrus meat that is commonly eaten by Inuit people and is preserved in a special way.The ingredient is sliced ​​into thin slices, fried and served with narwhal meat.

Tesla next to Li Yu had been dining at the Big Palm Restaurant for many years and was considered a little gourmet. He couldn't help but say after just one bite: "It's too oily!"

Li Yu didn't have much appetite, and after discovering that most of the celebrities present were people seeking fame and fame, he was no longer in the mood to raise funds and didn't want to beg them at all.

However, after Astor IV found out, he still took out two thousand dollars for Li Yu's sake.

By the way, the dazzling Robert Peary at the party probably never reached the North Pole.According to later research, after analyzing the observation data he provided, it was found that the location he reached most likely did not exceed 86 degrees 30 minutes north latitude.

That is, it is still close to 100 kilometers away from the true North Pole.

To take a step back, even if Pirie reaches the extreme, the first person to arrive is not Pirie himself, but his black assistant Hansen and an advance team composed of three Inuit.

It was just because of his skin color that Piri got all the honors.

-

When he arrived in the United States this time, Li Yu did not have time to go to Harvard University. He only informed Hu Gangfu, who was studying at Harvard, by telegram to be ready.Later, I will write a recommendation letter to Millikan and ask him to go to Chicago to be Millikan's assistant for one year.

Although Millikan's assistant could not share the scientific honors, Millikan was indeed unique and highly skilled in experimental physics, and Hu Gangfu could learn a lot from him.

Another day passed and Mr. Nakayama finally arrived in New York.

Situ Meitang first provided him with a donation of US$[-]. Mr. Zhongshan immediately guessed that Li Yu did not want to be named.He remembered that Li Yu told him that he didn't want to join politics, so he cast a grateful look at him tacitly.

Situ Meitang said: "Looking at the reports, Kang Youwei has arrived in Japan, and he is ambitious and wants to take advantage of the revolution to accomplish extraordinary feats."

Kang Youwei believed that the revolution would not succeed. When the time came, he planned to rely on the Beiyang Army to force the government to establish a parliament, and then use Beiyang to appease the revolutionary party. "

Li Yu said: "It's just wishful thinking. Is he still dreaming that his royalist party will become the largest party in Congress?"

"He has this idea because Mr. Kang has always believed that the revolutionary party has no one and does not know how to govern," Situ Meitang said. "Mr. Sun Yat-sen should return to China as soon as possible to prevent the royalists from stealing the results!"

Zhongshan nodded: "The domestic telegrams are urging us urgently. A military government has been established in Hubei, and the court's counterattack is about to come."

Li Yu looked into the distance, a new era was coming.